Background And Related Art
The present invention relates generally to the installation or replacement of plug-in liquid cooled inductive output tube (IOT) amplifiers, and particularly to an improved handle for use while installing or replacing the same.
Much of the energy of the electron beam in an IOT is converted to thermal energy, which heats the components of the IOT. More specifically, the collector is heated by the thermal energy from the electron beam. Thus, the IOT, and the collector in particular, must be capable of withstanding very high operating temperatures. Accordingly, it is desirable to cool the IOT collector to improve performance.
It is generally known to cool an IOT by circulating a liquid in a water jacket to remove the thermal energy from the IOT. The liquid in plug-in liquid cooled IOTs is generally a water-based fluid. Water-based fluids, however, are inherently incompatible with high-powered electrical applications. If the liquid cooling circuit is mishandled during installation or replacement the water-based fluid may leak and damage the delicate electronic circuitry of the plug-in liquid cooled IOT.
Plug-in liquid cooled IOTs are relatively expensive to produce, fragile, and difficult to maintain. Plug-in liquid cooled IOTs require periodic maintenance to maintain correct operation. Plug-in liquid cooled IOTs require careful handling during installation and maintenance to protect the cooling circuit and electrical connectors from being damaged.
Plug-in liquid cooled IOTs are installed by plugging them into sockets. A plug-in liquid cooled IOT that is misaligned with its socket is liable to be damaged if it is consequently forced into the socket. There are electrical contacts in the form of concentric rings on the plug-in liquid cooled IOT that mate with spring-finger contacts in the socket. The concentric rings must be correctly aligned with their corresponding spring-finger contacts for the plug-in liquid cooled IOT to function properly. These electrical contacts carry signals to the anode, cathode, grid, and other components of the plug-in liquid cooled IOT. Bent, damaged, or mis-aligned electrical contacts will impede or destroy the RF amplification properties of the plug-in liquid cooled IOT.
The socket may also have rubber gaskets to seal around the coolant passages communicating with the water jacket of the plug-in liquid cooled IOT. Mis-alignment of a plug-in liquid cooled IOT during installation can pinch or displace one of these gaskets, resulting in leaks.
Since the electrical contacts and cooling circuit gaskets of a plug-in liquid cooled IOT are easily damaged, the installer must be able to maintain a secure grip on the plug-in liquid cooled IOT in order to gently insert it into its socket. The installer must also be able to keep the concentric rings of the plug-in liquid cooled IOT straight, aligned, and centered with the spring-finger connectors in the socket during installation. And the installer must be able to align the cooling circuit passages of the plug-in liquid cooled IOT with the gasketed cooling circuit passages of the socket during installation.
Thus, there exists a need for a mechanism to facilitate the correct installation, replacement or removal of plug-in liquid cooled IOTs by giving a technician a convenient way to grip, control, and manipulate them.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a solution to the problems discussed above.
In particular, the present invention provides a lifting handle that temporarily attaches to the water jacket of a plug-in liquid cooled IOT to facilitate installation, replacement, or removal of the IOT. The lifting handle includes two gripping surfaces that wrap around the water jacket of a plug-in liquid cooled IOT. The gripping surfaces are hinged at their top ends and clamped with a toggle clamp at their bottom ends. The gripping surfaces may be shaped to provide convenient handling during installation, replacement, or removal.